The present invention generally relates to a connector for use in a deepwater application, such as in a subsea oil or gas well.
A subsea oil or gas well includes various pieces of equipment which must be capable of withstanding harsh environmental conditions, including large temperature variations, high pressure differentials, thermal shock, and highly corrosive and abrasive surroundings. A conventional subsea well 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in which a wellhead 12 is located on the seabed 14. The well 10 may include a tubing string 16 which extends inside a casing 18 that lines a wellbore 19. The tubing string 16 includes a passageway for purposes of communicating well fluid to the wellhead 12. To aid in producing the fluid, the tubing string 16 may include an electrical submersible pump 20. The pump 20 typically is powered from the wellhead 12 by one or more electrical power cables 22. For instance, for a three-phase pump, three electrical cables 22 may extend from the wellhead 12 to the pump 20.
Due to the very nature of its operation, the electrical submersible pump 20 is surrounded by well fluid. A connection assembly 24 is used to connect the power cables 22 to the motorhead of the pump 20. The sealed connections formed by the assembly 24 should ideally maintain their integrity even in the relatively high temperature, high pressure and wet conditions that are present in the subsea well 10. The sealed connections also should maintain their integrity for long periods of time to avoid the costly task of removing and replacing the cables 22, pump 20 and/or the connection assembly 24 during the production life of the well 10.
Such a connection assembly may also be useful in deepwater (i.e., depths generally in excess of 1000 meters) applications other than a subsea well in which an electrical feedthrough must withstand a high temperature and high pressure environment. Thus, for instance, such a connection assembly may be used to provide an electrical connection to any of a variety of electrical submersible components, such as a transformer, multi-phase pump, subsea separator, etc.
Thus, there is a continued need for electrical connection assemblies that maintain their integrity in the harsh environmental conditions of a deepwater application.